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Julia Leads Record Broadway Season
The Great White Way is looking pretty this year.
With an assist from Julia Roberts, a few bumbling knights, and some witches from Oz, Broadway had a banner 2005-2006 season as theatergoers snapped up a record-breaking 12 million-plus tickets.
Per the League of American Theatres and Producers, ticket sales were up 4.1 percent compared to last year's figure of 11.53 million sold, much of that thanks to the Pretty Woman star turn in the hit revival of Richard Greenberg play, Three Days of Rain, not to mention boffo box office courtesy of several blockbuster Tony Award-winning musicals, Monty Python's Spamalot, Wicked, The Lion King and The Producers.
And let's not forget perennial crowd favorite, Mamma Mia!.
Box office revenue also increased by 12 percent to a whopping $861.6 million compared to last season's $768.5 million take. While venues along the Great White Way were filled close to capacity, averaging 81.6 percent, much of that due to New York City's booming tourist trade.
Factor in the rise in orchestra seats to $111 each as well as the price of "premium" seats going for as high as $300 and Broadway not only rebounded from its post-9/11 nose-dive, but also busted out with its best-grossing year ever.
Despite the fact that Roberts' Broadway bow in Three Days of Rain and the heavily-hyped reunion of original Producers Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane in a revival of The Odd Couple received bad reviews from critics, both shows are sold out.
Among the other productions with Hollywood stars helping push attendance to new heights is Faith Healer, starring Ralph Fiennes, and three new tuners, the Pajama Game headlining crooner Harry Connick Jr., Jersey Boys, inspired by the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and a revival of the Bertol Brecht and Kurt Weil musical Threepenny Opera, featuring an ensemble including Alan Cumming and Cyndi Lauper.
And the season's biggest success story undoubtedly belonged to Alan Bennett's play The History Boys, which has been playing like gangbusters and snagged seven Tony nods.
Lestat, featuring a score from Elton John, closed after only 39 performances, while jukebox musicals Lennon and Ring of Fire--inspired by the careers of former Beatle John Lennon, and country legend Johnny Cash?fared a tad better, shuttering after 49 and 57 performances respectively.
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